Building a new Our Lady and St Patrick’s High on the current school site could pose “significant challenges”, according to the head teacher.

Charles Rooney believes the result of developing the new build at the Hawthornhill Road location would mean a lack of facilities, compared with other schools in the region.

West Dunbartonshire Council has identified a preferred site at Posties Park in Dumbarton and a second option of the existing school location in Castlehill.

And the head teacher this week spoke to the Lennox Herald about the plans.

Mr Rooney said: “I am aware that the authority is committed to offering the highest quality of teaching and learning and we have seen that commitment across the authority with the number of new builds both in secondary and in the primary sector as well.

“I am obviously delighted that the authority has made the decision that Our Lady and St Patrick’s will feature in that.

“For me it’s essential. It’s necessary to reflect the demands of modern education.

“Our building is tired and there are also maintenance issues that would just be an ongoing cost to the authority.”

The head teacher also expressed concerns over constructing the new facility on the current location, which includes a lack of sporting facilities which have been developed at other new schools in the area.

He added: “For me, what is absolutely crucial, is that the young people in Our Lady and St Patrick’s have access to the same high quality facilities that have been made available to students across West Dunbartonshire. For me that’s an imperative. That is the consideration.

“The authority has narrowed down its options to two sites, one the existing site and the other one closer to the town centre.

“As head teacher there are issues regarding the demolition of part of our current school and the disruption that would have on young people’s education.

“There are obviously significant challenges that would exist if the decision was made to build on the existing site. The end result would be a school that would lack comparable facilities.

“The whole health-promoting agenda of the Scottish Government and the recommendations of sportscotland for outdoor sports facilities would fall short.”

“There’s no constraint with Posties Park whereas the difficulty here in Castlehill would be the actual size of the school campus and the fact that you’re building on site on what is an extremely cramped campus area anyway.

“Even once the old building is demolished, it would still lack space required to create the sporting facilities.”

Mr Rooney is keen to encourage anyone affected by the location of Our Lady and St Patrick’s High, which he describes as a “key decision” to make their views known to the council during the ongoing consultation process.

He said: “I think it’s important that everyone who is likely to have an interest, or any group that is likely to be affected, fully engage in the consultation exercise.”

The council is currently seeking views on both locations from any members of the public or community groups and will make the final decision on the location of the new build OLSP early next year.